The Angel Who Set Me Free
by AngelSnake
Summary: I will never forget her. I will never forget the angel who set me free.


**Can a soldier who has been corrupted by war be redeemed to stop it?**

**Hmmmmm...Let's find out, shall we?**

* * *

The Angel Who Set Me Free

"_Eyes are a window to a soul. I see a good soul in your eyes. Don't let it die out in darkness."_

You ever heard of those shows or movies where the white, picket fence type of girl redeems the misguided, controlled bad guy; she shows him the error of his ways and with the warm, innocent eyes of an angel, pleads for him to take her gentle as an angel's feathered wings hands and let her take him towards the light out of the endless darkness that could eventually consume his soul? I always thought that happened inside the fantasy world of people's minds. Never have I actually believed one person could totally turn someone away from the temptation of evil and lead them to salvation, cradling them into their arms protecting them forever from the corrupted world they lived in. Never have I thought that would happen to me. Not to me.

Long ago, I was like though. I was a naïve, innocent man looking at the world in sugar-coated glasses. But when you are soldier….oh how quickly those glasses break from the screams of my slaughtered victims…gunfire from my weapon…drenching in sweat and blood. With the heel of pure disgust, I smashed the glasses and never looked back at my pathetic excuses from what I did in the battlefield. I left them on the bodies of the dead soldiers I killed for self-preservation. Everyone says people have reasons for killing someone. My reasons? I didn't do it for freedom, for justice, or for whatever other reasons people use to justify murder. I did it because I was told to.

I'm a Tekken Force officer. I follow the will of the leader, good or bad. It wasn't my job to question the mission. Besides, what is a soldier? Nothing but a tool; a weapon for the wielder to use to kill or destroy what he wanted. Something to sacrifice for his cause; his own agenda. It wasn't a soldier's place to raise his hand and say, "What are we doing?"

We weren't supposed to think. If we were told to pull the trigger, we did it. Ordered to jump a cliff, we jumped it. We were as mindless as those NANCYs Jin deployed. Mindless machines devoid of feeling of guilt or remorse towards the people we savagely took the life of.

That was me… a mindless, soulless weapon for Jin to use over and over again. I ate and sleep for the next mission. That was all I was living for. Nothing was in between. Not friendship or love. Just blind loyalty to Jin's cause; my eyes saw the world in his vision With shattered dreams and a crushed hope, I was just the void of my former self.

But my life soon took another spin…again… after one fateful day.

What changed me wasn't an event, it was a person. A very special person…

It was just a normal dull day.

* * *

_I got up from my grey bunk bed wearing only my white boxers with my feet bearing down on the rough carpet floor. I slept on the bottom while my roommate slept above, snoring loudly. His name was Tougou. Like I said, I didn't make time to make friends, only the mission. I didn't care. He was a reliable soldier and we both saved each other's hide. That's all I could ask for. Knocking on the wood of his bed, I shouted for him to wake up. Grumbling, the Japanese man, who had dark hair that was cut nearly to his scalp with a matching chin beard that went around to his sideburns, got up in his black shorts and jumped off the bed, landing with a thud. I took a shower in warm water washing and rinsing my well-toned, muscular body created from months of rigorous basic training and my hair which on the right side, three huge strands of hair stuck up in the back. Drying myself, brushing my teeth and combing my hair, I slipped into my heavy, full black armor suit. The weight of my body increased as the heavy plating of metal armor attached to the most vulnerable parts of my body. _

_Once Tougou was ready, we both headed to the briefing room where Jin in his purple business suit and the blond haired and indigo eyes of Nina Williams sat in a chair against the wall watching Jin's back.. Her black trenchcoat obscured the slick, lavender catsuit she wore underneath. Tougou and I both gave a salute and took a seat on the columns of metal chairs in the dim lit room along with other soldiers, focusing at the projector screen in front of all of us. It was a map of a city of some sort._

_What came out of Jin's mouth was very bold…_

"_We are going to demolish the entire city of New York. Because of their military's interference and recent reports of G-corporation's mutual partnership with them, the United States is still resisting our might. The White House needs more convincing that we are a force to reckoning with."_

_I knew what Jin wanted us to do._

_To kill… to kill indiscriminately._

_Plain and simple. _

_I was standing on the rooftop of the only remaining unblemished tall structure as a helicopter zipped past me, passing through the curtain of smoke that now covered the sunny, blue sky. The air once smelling of pure mixes of sweet fragrances now horribly twisted into the rotting odor of charred, bullet shot bodies that littered the streets along with the debris from the bombarded buildings that laid, crushing both the dead and the living men, women, and children. Alarms were blaring from cars that either laid damaged beyond repair, turned upside. Re and black armored soldiers escorted the living bodies, forcing their hand sup in the air. Scattering , the soldiers banged and invaded buildings. Rumbles of thunder flashed through the windows of those structures as the screams that were as loud as the blaring car alarms were silenced for eternity. Per Jin's request, I was to sit back and watch until major circumstances happened that needed my attention. I was surprised to see that the U.S. military forces were still not making an attempted to save what was left of the once majestic Big Apple. Maybe they deemed it a lost cause. _

_Glazing at the carnage and the blood splats that coated the white and black pavements. When I first saw something like this, my stomach churned, my eyes watered, and I could feel my throat burned with hot liquid that wanted me to throw up all my pain and sorrow on the ground. But once you have gone through and seen so many battlefields, your heart hardens to the horror…the smell. Your nerves tighten like iron at the corpses of slain victims, both citizen and soldier alike. I was so used to death that it didn't bother me. Even as my eyes laid on the mutilated, I felt no sympathy, no empathy, nor compassion. I was hollow, apathetic to the whole world around me. Feeding on the adrenaline rush of battle and craving more. Not caring who I had to kill to satisfy the rush that was like a drug. Right now, I was feeling empty…I wanted to be down there and get inside the war zone for sick desires. _

_Then my com-link channel went to static as the panicking voice of one of my men stuttered like a crazy lunatic._

"_Sir, we have a major disturbance on ground zero."_

"_Where?"_

"_Time Squar---"_

_With the immediate cut off, I headed down ground zero. Walking over the dead bodies, I could hear the shouts of my men ordering to fire at someone. Soon after, I heard their grunts of pain and the sounds of a struggle. As I turned the corner, I was tempted to laugh at what stared at me. Standing on top of the hill of my broken, unconscious men was a bulky girl, who had blond hair styled in pigtails, dressed in a white tank top with capris. She jumped off the soldiers and her flat-heel white boots made the dust from the sidewalk blew from every little direction. She walked up to me. It was then I realized that this girl wasn't fragile looking. Looking at her arms, they were muscular. _

"_How can you people do this? Destroying an entire city…there is nothing for you guys here!"_

"_Go home, little girl. Spare yourself the pain."_

_The girl stood firm, "I'm not! I'm going to make sure the Tekken Force doesn't hurt anyone else."_

_I thought she was crazy, trying to be a hero for thousands of people who don't even know or care what she does. Heroes don't usually last long in the battlefield. A hero is just a body with no name, fading away in the wind along with the ash of other victims. Maybe I should just put her out of her misery. _

_With a spark of electricity and the roar of a battle cry ready for combat, I thrust a fist towards her innocently, well-set face. The girl put up her big strong arms and blocked my fist. Her legs swung upwards and nicked my chin making me staggering a couple of steps back. It was only a string, hardly powerful enough to even faze me so I recovered real quickly as she approached me for her offense. Deflecting her first punch to my face, she twirled like a ballerina and her other fist connected to my abdomen enough to blow the air from my lungs. In this reaction, the woman tripped me with a leg sweep. I landed on my side and rolled away from her. Her blue orbs intently waited for me to get up from the ground. I thought the girl would take advantage of me yet she just stood there intently, batting her eyelashes waiting for me to get up. Why was she staring at me like that? My face twisted in anger at her gaze. Purple sparks pop from my fists. Flipping forward, I ran towards her. A straight jab to her face followed by an uppercut with my right. My left leg came down on the side of her skull, causing her body to spin around. She was on her back, wincing. _

"_You didn't answer my question. Why are you doing this?"_

"_I'm just a soldier."_

_I turned my back from her and walked away. I felt a cold breeze over my head as the girl jumped above my head and landed in front of me._

"_Is that your excuse? For the slaughter of innocent people?" _

"_There are no innocents in war."_

_That's when I developed a bad taste in my mouth, tainted by those words. I became frustrated and grind my teeth._

"_You wouldn't understand."_

"_Try me!"_

"_No more talk," I charged forward, "Die!"_

_She went into her defensive stance as I caught her by surprise when I slipped into my silent entry, with speed and excellent timing, my body stood up. Along the way, my right leg went straight at the girl's chin. My body spun around as she grunted in mid-air. She regained her posture then went straight at me. I was about to grab her when she did a one-eighty around my back, grabbing my other arm and twisting it above her head as she, with perfect grace and balance, bought me down. She had a firm grasp on my wrist and stared at my eyes deeply. Her innocent beauty washing over me as I could sense a new question about to arise. But I didn't give her the chance to ask. Forcing her hand off my arm, I jerked my feet up above her shin and dug deep into the pressure point. She seized up and hissed, holding her thigh._

'_What are you fighting for?" _

_We exchanged a series of blows towards each other. _

"_I fight for Jin. For the mission."_

_My elbow jabbed into her stomach in which she recovered quickly and like white lightning, her open small palm collided with my chest, making me slid backwards against the roadside. I nearly fell but my feet planted hard on the ground, keeping my stance stable._

"_Is it right to fight for a man who wishes for malice against people who never have done any harm?"_

_Her soft stride towards me changed into a sprint as she spun around. Her leg was about to slam against my jaw but I blocked it with my forearm. My claw-like fists formed together, electrifying, as pounded them towards her torso. It made her fall on her behind. Her face grimaced as her body was overcome in my power._

"_Why are you asking me these questions? Why do you care if I work for an evil man?"_

_I could tell she was still in pain but that didn't stop her from using my leg as leverage for her to flip back and regain her stance. I felt her clench fist upon my chin doubled by the kick to my face. I grabbed my face for a second, foolishly giving her the chance to grab me. Before she could get a chance to throw me down, I smirked as I countered her with a throw of my own. As I twisted her back in front of me, I keep her in my sights as I gave her my magnetic knee pressing her back and kept kneeing her stomach until I finished with a powerful thrust to her face. I could see blood from her lip spill on the ground. _

"_I don't know. There is something abo---" her eyes glanced upward as she wiped the blood from her lip and a look of horror came upon her, "Look out!"_

_I thought it was a trick for me to let my guard down so she can get in a cheap shot. She knocked me down and all I saw was a white dusty fog blind my vision. I started coughing as I sniffed the air. The girl who saved my life was stuck in the rumble. She looked up at me. Her blond hair sprinkled with specks of white ash. Why did she do that? Why did she save me?_

"_Why did you save me?"_

_She coughed but didn't answer my question. I got up close her chaste face, "Why? I'm your enemy. Why did you?"_

_Her blue eyes searched through my own as she, strongly and truthfully, said the words that echoed through my head like a mantra, "Eyes are a window to a soul. I see a good soul in your eyes. Don't let it die in darkness."_

_Those words…_

_The same exact words were spoken by my mother, Adela. It was the day I was to leave to the airport and flew to Japan when I was recruited to join Tekken Force. I was rather proud of myself when I got the letter despite my sandy blond-haired mother's conflicted face between congratulating me or ripping up the letter and telling me not to go. My mother gave out a heavy sigh and squeezed my shoulder trying to smile even though she was afraid to let me go. Reaching the patio of our brick one story home, breathing in heavily as I thought it will be awhile before I could smell the clean cut grass of the front yard I used to roll over and play with when I was so young, I looked back at my mother who was standing at the threshold of the door and with motherly love, she caressed and kissed my cheek. Her bright sapphire eyes of wisdom burned intensely in mine, "Eyes are window to a soul. I see a good soul in your eyes. Don't let it die out there in the battlefield. Remember to stay true to yourself."_

_I pulled the girl out from the debris, "See! I knew there is some goodness in you."_

"_No---" _

_A tremor vibrated the ground. The girl screamed and pulled away from me. Machine gun fire trailed towards her, spooking her. A NANCY was right behind me. Its red optics glowing, ready for combat._

"_Stand down! I will handle this!"_

_I ran fast to catch up to the girl who was already four blocks ahead of me. Damn! She was a fast runner. I found myself wondering as I crossed through the intersection and spotted her figure down the right side; what am I going to do to this girl? By this time, I could have crushed her throat and made her another name on the list of causalities or if she was valuable, I would have captured her and Jin could use her as leverage for the United States to stop their interference and sever their ties with G-Corporation. Heck, if the United States done that in the first place, Jin would have never attacked this city or would he? Swirls of questions swarmed my mind like bees on honey. Jin had attacked cities that didn't do anything to him. Those third world countries fell easily in his grip…our grip. Was Jin attacking everyone? Innocent or not? Was no one safe? Were we, his own army, even safe? _

_My mind was in a state of pure perplexity when I darted inside a complex where I saw this girl enter. I called to her but she never turned back to face me. We found ourselves on top of the roof. I was heavily breathing. She was as well. I could see her trying to analyze what to do next. I didn't even know what to do next! Was the only thing I could was kill? Was I that pathetic? No brain of my own. No I do have a brain. Time I start using it!_

"_There is no where to run. You are trapped."_

"_No one is trapped!"_

_She was defiant even to the end. So stubborn she was. She was simple-minded towards the fact that she could still protect and defend the only lost city. She wouldn't gi…ve up. I lowered my head in shame. Give up? I gave up years ago. I lost my innocence to war. I lost my ability to think on my own. Succumbing to the darkness, I lost myself because I was weak._

"_Is this what you want to be remembered for? A harbinger of destruction? Look around…" her muscular arm waved out towards the city._

_No more apathy was shown in my face like when I first got here. My stomach churned and as my eyes scanned the entire city that was laying in ashes, I felt a twinkle of a tear leave the corner of both of my eyes. Furious and hatred towards myself for letting all these people…this majestic city drown in the fires of a war that didn't involve them. I found myself on my knees and my fist smashed against the tough concrete building, leaving a crater imprinted on its surface. A tender hand grasped my shoulder gently. I looked at the girl. The sun seeped from the clouds. In an ironic sense, the rays from it's warm body formed a halo above her head. Suffice to say, it fit her._

_That was then I realized that I never asked the angel's name._

"_What is your name?" _

_As I wiped the streams off my cheeks and stood back up, she smiled at me._

"_My name is…"_

_The whole structure trembled as I heard the squealing sound and an hissing noise behind me. The girl pushed me out of the way. Everything was in slow motion as I hit the side of the building. The Nancy I ordered to stay followed me. It's machine gun arm started heating up as bullets busted from them. I watched in horror as the bullets ripped through the girl; her piercing screams of bloody murder rung the air. _

_I screamed at the Nancy to cease fire! I screamed louder…and louder!_

_The Nancy finally stopped its rampage. I ran over to the girl, who was now washed in her own blood, as she was about to fall over the edge and fall to her death…if she wasn't already dead. My left hand grabbed her lion plushie and broke it from her belt. Swiftly, I dropped it and at the last minute, I grabbed her arm with my right. _

_I didn't know what to do or say to the girl in my hands. I nearly looked away from her eyes that was dimming little by little. The only thing I could do was apologize in which she gave me a response I didn't expect._

"_Don't be. I know that you have seen the error of your ways."_

_My grip was slipping which made my left hand grasp the other side of her arm. It was still itching slowly towards ground zero which was twenty feet below._

"_Please…stop this…carnage…" blood dripped from her mouth._

"_I will. I promise."_

_I didn't know how I could stop a war but I didn't want to say that to the dying woman in my arms now slipping._

"_What is your name? Please!"_

"_It's Joanna….Joanna Sheppard." she coughed before she spoke again, "What is yours?"_

"_Lars…Lars Alexandersson."_

_She closed her eyes still in smiling, "It was nice to meet you, Lars. Good…bye."_

_I lost my grip and held out my hand to try and catch her…but it was futile. I yelled out her name as her body fell twenty feet. I tore my eyes away but I stayed at the roof top until the same helicopter zipped past me. Jin was riding on it with a expression of deep disappointment. That was when I knew…Jin ordered that Nancy to follow me…_

_A burning fire grew inside that day…_

_That fire transformed into determination and rebellion._

* * *

I looked at the lion plushie that I carried with me ever since that day. I glanced at my chest plate which was carved in the shape of the lion that was much more serious than the one Joanna carried. I smiled at it and put it aside as my troops saluted me and I returned it. There was still doubts inside my soul even if I did have over half of the Tekken Force with me but I know that was meant to do this. This was my true purpose and my true self.

Tougou was near me with a look of triumph on his rugged face.

"I think your mother and Joanna would be proud."

I nodded, "Yeah.."

I will never forget that woman…

The angel who set me free.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this story. =)**


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